The Maharashtra government will be opening three Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) to curb the child mortality rate in the state.

Of the three units, two will be in Vidarbha (Chandrapur and Amravati) and one in Nashik, said Maharashtra Health Minister Deepak Sawant today.

He said 230 incubators will be provided to government hospitals across Maharashtra for better treatment of new borns.

Sawant, who was in Nagpur to take a review of the health department, said, "premature birth and underweight of the new born are among the main causes for such deaths.

"From April 2017 till August 2017 there were 3,369 deliveries reported in Chandrapur, of which 2,216 new born were above 2.5 kg and 1,074 newborns were below 2.5 kg. Similarly, 959 newborns were between 1,500 to 2,500 grams."

On the situation of swine flu in Maharashtra, Sawant said that from January 2017 to September 2017, a total of 521 deaths were reported in Maharashtra.

Of the 13,000 people screened for swine flu in Nagpur, 253 patients were found positive, he said.